Things I Love: Paula Deen

Hi y’all! [insert infectious cackle here] I have come to tell you about my love for one miraculous woman. A woman who isn’t afraid to laugh at herself and put a stick or two of butter in every single thing she cooks. This woman, with her gorgeous salt and pepper hair and round, but adorable frame is none other than cook and author extraordinaire Paula Deen.

You see, I could be having the worst day ever - I could be depressed and pissed off about traffic and wondering what in the world the rest of my life is going to look like, and along comes Paula Deen, with her bigger than life Southern drawl, her wide eyes and her ability to turn every single meal into a heart attack waiting to happen and my life is just that much better.

Paula is my absolute favorite chef to watch on the Food Network. It’s especially exciting when she invites her husband Michael on camera for a bit of banter. He’s a quiet, genteel man, I presume. He’s just this big lovable bear and come to think of it, so is she.

Wait. Just wait. I think I had an epiphany. Michael and Paula are the modern day Santa and Mrs. Clause! Am I right or am I right?

Paula brings the most joy when she’s out on excursions with Michael, such as my favorite episode, in which she travels to France. Imagine Paula Deen in France. Go ahead and I dare you. You think you know, but you have no idea. Imagine that Southern American Butter Ball of a woman running amuck in Paris. She was the greatest thing to happen to France since cheese. She pranced around an open market, kissed a French man and ate almost every pastry at a cafe. She also travels to London in the same episode and is equally hilarious there as she is in the city of lights. The episode seemed to have hit a chord with quite a few people, as evidenced by the comments on Chowhound, but I think people are taking it too seriously and really, you are out of your mind if you take Paula Y’all Deen too seriously. You might as well not watch her, because you just don’t get it.

While she wasn’t always on the look out for coronary arteries to clog, Paula has an incredible background. Her parents died while she was in her 20s and she suffered from agoraphobia and would not leave her house. She had no formal food or chef training, yet she used her cooking talents to create a catering service which became so popular that she opened her own restaurant, The Lady and Sons in Savannah, Georgia in 1996.

In short, I think she’s amazing and the most interesting and fascinating food personality on television today. You cannot even compare her to Rachel Ray or Emeril for that matter. Yes, she’s over the top, yes she’s a bit ridiculous. Yes, you might get cholesterol just by standing next to her, but this is all besides the point. She’s pure entertainment and I love every minute I get to spend with her.